A BROMSGROVE animal rehoming centre has embraced a new legal agreement to help stop couples who break-up fighting over their much-loved pets.

Blue Cross figures show marital conflict and relationship breakdown as the cause of around a thousand pets been given up to the charities' 12 rehoming centres over the past five years – an average of four a week.

This has spurred the charity to launch the ‘pet-nup’ which encourages pet owners to sign-up and protect their furry friends.

The document, which is pet equivalent of a pre-nuptial agreement, outlines who would take ownership of a pet and what responsibilities and rights they would have should a relationship end.

Neil Edwards, rehoming centre manager at Blue Cross in Bromsgrove, said: “We sometimes deal with some very upsetting situations when pets are brought to us following relationship splits. It really is devastating for everyone involved – including the pet. One partner will sometimes bring a pet to us for rehoming without the other’s knowledge.

"Our pets are not just material goods; they are often at the heart of our home lives, so it is a good idea to agree on your pet’s future in advance to make a difficult situation easier. It makes sense to agree up front who will keep your pet so that they don’t get dragged through the courts or end up in our rehoming centres.”

The official agreement was developed in partnership with legal divorce experts Lloyd Platt & Company.

Vanessa Lloyd Platt, divorce lawyer at Lloyd Platt & Company and developer of the pet-nup plan, said: “Pets are part of the family so in the event of divorce who gets to look after the pet, as with children, is sadly all too often the grounds for much dispute.

“We handle more than four hundred divorces a year, many of which have a prenuptial agreement involved, and whilst they are always emotional and hard for those involved, the pre-nuptial agreements definitely take the conflict out of them and speed up the process.

"Just as with the house, the car, and the gadgets, it makes sense to agree right at the outset who gets ownership of the dog, horse or the chinchilla in the event of a relationship breakdown or divorce.

“The courts in England and Wales do not like deciding how people should divide ownership of their pets, but where they do, evidence of who bought the pet or a document outlining who will get what and who will pay for what, will be very strong evidence.

"It is particularly important where children are involved for everybody to know where they are if the relationship breaks down. I believe written agreements like the pet-nup will stop the increase in pet conflicts once and for all.”

The study also found that following break-ups women are more likely to keep the pets with 56 per cent retaining ownership in contrast to the 29 per cent of men.

To download a copy of the pet-nup or deed of agreement visit bluecross.org.uk/pet-nup.